Medical Education Mafia Unearthed: Retd High Court judge arrested

New Delhi: A retired judge of the Orissa High Court along five others have been arrested by the CBI in an alleged corruption case of taking bribe to " Settle" a case of debarment against a Medical college

Justice (retired) Ishrat Masroor Quddusi has been booked on corruption charges, along with B P Yadav and Palash Yadav of the Prasad Educational Trust which runs a medical college in Lucknow, Biswanath Agrawala a middleman and two others --  Ms Bhawana Pandey and Sudhir Giri, according to a CBI spokesperson.

However, as per the FIR of CBI, a copy of which is with Medical Dialogues team, Mr. Quddusi allegedly conspired with one Ms. Bhawana Pandey to “settle” the matter concerning debarment of Prasad Institute of Medical Science, Lucknow. The FIR further states that the said retd judge, who had met with Mr Yadav, through Sudhir Giri of Venkateshwara Medical College, Meerut.  allegedly advised the him to withdraw his challenge to the debarment from the Apex Court and approach the Allahabad High Court instead. The High Court had then granted an interim stay against the debarment.

Further, when MCI challenged the said order in the Apex Court, the said judge along with his co-conspirator Ms Bhawana Pandey assured Yadav that  they will “get the matter settled in the Apex Court through their contacts."

It is alleged in the FIR that Biswanath Agrawala, a so-called a middleman with "very close contact with senior relevant public functionaries" was then engaged to get the matter favourable settled. The middleman had demanded huge gratification for the same

CBI sleuths till now have recovered Rs 1.91 crore during the raids, including at Quddusi's residence in south Delhi's Greater Kailash as well as some money from a hawala operator Ram Dev Saraswat .

 The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against retired Judge of the High Court of Odisha; five private persons and other unknown public servants & private persons u/s 120-B IPC and section 8 of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.